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My wife has a book on her bedside stand called So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore. I [figuratively] have a press release on my bedside stand called “So Long Insecurity,” by the Wi-Fi Alliance. You may have already read or heard that the compass of the Wi-Fi Alliance is pointed due north on a path to prevent support of insecure security solutions on Wi-Fi certified (read: any Wi-Fi device in the competitive marketplace) devices.

That may be Steve Jobs’ question after today’s WWDC mishap. I’m not an Apple fanboy, so I have to chuckle about Steve Jobs’ (actually, it was someone else’s responsibility, but he should’ve known) slightly embarrassing blunder this morning. Relying on 2.4 GHz conference Wi-Fi to do a much anticipated and incredibly important keynote speech…oy!

I’m usually a pretty level-headed guy, but today I’ve got the itch. I need to rant. Every now and again my calm and collected (ok, I’m stoic) nature undergoes a metamorphosis and becomes obnoxious and irascible. So, here’s my scattergun rant about the things that bother me.

I read an article the other day that spoke of an increasing need for differentiation in the WLAN space, especially as commoditization occurs and feature parity between vendors is stabilizing. Because they’re the big kid on the block, Cisco has gotten a lot of press about their new CleanAir technology. Some folks doubt the usefulness of integrated spectrum analysis, but in my opinion, CleanAir is a good example of the kind of differentiation factor that is important in today’s WLAN marketplace.

In the vendor scramble towards low-priced commoditized 802.11n hardware, one vendor is drawing a line in the sand and bucking the trend. Perhaps the only vendor that could stand resolute with this decision, Cisco is foregoing the sprint to status quo (low priced 2x2) by introducing the antithesis of commodity, something that fits by itself in a category called “premium.”

Ekahau really impressed me a few weeks back. First off, they’ve jumped headlong into supporting CWNP trainers (CWNTs) by providing training and resources so that CWNTs can continue to offer the best wireless education on the market (that’s my shameless pride in our CWNTs). Support like this is critical for CWNP training and trainers to maintain industry relevance. Having some of the best tools on the market is a big part of having functional WLANs, but even the best tools are useless in the hands of a dummy. Ekahau’s people are smart enough to make some super products, and they’re smart enough to follow up on their great tools by pushing forward with educational efforts. Many vendors are active in the same way, and we appreciate them all very much. Special thanks to Jussi and EJ at Ekahau for hosting the CWNT webinar!

As Mercy Ships pulled into Liberia in 2006, the country had just come out of a 14 year civil war. Children had been trained to be soldiers and were even forced to kill their own families. Civilians had their arms amputated at the wrist (long sleeve) or at the elbow (short sleeve) for no other reason than to create casualties for the government to have to deal with.

My name is Mark Elliott I am a former US Coast Guard Officer and a 15 year IT professional manager having served on both sides of the Purchase Order as both an IT Director and as a Post and Pre Sales Engineering Manager. My good friend Kevin Sandlin of CWNP has invited me to start this blog to highlight my faith based humanitarian service and how I use IT technology to change the plight of the poorest and sickest people of this world.